ACL Page Limit
Long papers: 8 pages. Short papers: 4 pages. References and appendix unlimited. Camera-ready gets one extra page. Same rules at EMNLP, NAACL, EACL, AACL.
Open ACL template (with live page counter)The rules in one sentence
Long: 8 main pages. Short: 4 main pages. References: unlimited. Appendix: unlimited (supplementary). Camera-ready: +1 page.
What counts toward the page limit
- The abstract
- All section text from Introduction through Conclusion
- Figures and their captions
- Tables
- Algorithms and pseudocode
- Inline and display equations
What does NOT count
- References (the bibliography after the main body)
- Appendix (separate supplementary file, unlimited)
- Acknowledgments (hidden during anonymous review; reappear in camera-ready)
- Limitations / Ethics statement (some venues count, some don't — check call for papers)
Long vs short paper — what to choose
Long (8 pages): Full research contribution. Multi-experiment evaluation. Novel method with thorough analysis. Most ACL submissions are long.
Short (4 pages): Focused contribution. Single experiment. Position paper. Negative result. System demonstration. Survey of a narrow topic. Short papers have higher acceptance rates at some conferences but are more competitive per page.
Common venues using these limits
| Venue | Long | Short |
|---|---|---|
| ACL | 8 pages | 4 pages |
| EMNLP | 8 pages | 4 pages |
| NAACL | 8 pages | 4 pages |
| EACL | 8 pages | 4 pages |
| AACL | 8 pages | 4 pages |
| Findings of * | Inherits parent venue limit | Inherits |
More ACL/NLP resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Long papers: 8 pages of main content. Short papers: 4 pages of main content. Both have unlimited references and unlimited appendix (in supplementary material). Accepted papers get one extra page (9 long, 5 short) for camera-ready. EMNLP, NAACL, EACL, AACL all use the same limits.
Long papers (8 pages): full research contributions, multi-experiment evaluations, novel methods. Short papers (4 pages): focused contributions, single-experiment work, position papers, system demonstrations. Both go through identical peer review; reviewers evaluate based on the appropriate length expectation.
No. References are excluded — unlimited. You can have a 12-page document if 8 pages are main body and 4 pages are bibliography.
Unlimited supplementary material (separate file, not in the main PDF). Common: extended experimental tables, hyperparameter grids, additional ablations, full prompts (for LLM papers), dataset statistics, code documentation, error analysis details. Reviewers may consult but aren't required to.
Long papers get 9 pages (8 + 1 extra), short papers get 5 pages (4 + 1 extra). The extra page is for addressing reviewer feedback, expanding limitations, and including newly visible acknowledgments and author info.
Submissions over the limit are typically desk-rejected. ACL's submission system (OpenReview or START) enforces the cap automatically. Use supplementary material for anything that doesn't fit.
Yes. All visible content in the main body — figures, tables, algorithms, equations — counts toward the 8/4-page limit. Only references and appendix don't count.
Move ablations and hyperparameter details to supplementary. Use sub-figure layouts for related plots. Tighten figure captions. Use vector figures (PDF). The ACL .sty file already maximizes content density within the page bound.